Second-half surge sends Seahawks to 4-0 win over Falcons

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. - Senior forward Sean McAllister (No. Arlington, N.J.) saw his first action in the second half and broke a scoreless tie in the 53rd minute to lift Salve Regina University men's soccer to a 4-0 non-league win over visiting Fitchburg State University at Gaudet Field.

Less than eight minutes into the second half, freshman midfielder Enrique Lecaros (Paterson, N.J.) found McAllister alone on the right side and the Seahawks' all-time leading scorer added to his career total with a strong right-footed blast into the upper left corner. Less than a minute later, junior midfielder Jacob Brigandi (Vernon, Conn.) scored his first goal of the season to give Salve Regina a 2-0 lead.

The teams had battled to a scoreless first half while a pair of Seahawk seniors, McAllister and Christopher Knoth (East Islip, N.Y.), earned some rest in preparation of Saturday's Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championships quarterfinal game at second-seeded Gordon College. The Falcons outshot the home team, 7-to-3, in the first 45 minutes. Salve Regina held Fitchburg State without a shot in the second half while unleashing 16 shots of its own.

Freshman midfielder Alex Wasilewski (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) tallied his third goal of the season in the 86th minute after receiving a pass from fellow classmate Devin L'Heureux (Litchfield, N.H.) and then maneuvering around a Falcon defender. Sophomore defender Patrick Charland (Duxbury, Mass.) finished off the scoring with a penalty shot in the final minute.

Freshman keeper Kyle Kureczka (Berlin, Conn.), the CCC defensive player and rookie of the week, recorded his second-straight shutout and saw his goals against average plummet to 0.95 while making four saves. Freshman Aidan Hanratty (E. Bridgewater, Mass.) finished with seven stops for the Falcons.

Salve Regina (7-8-3) ran its unbeaten streak to four games (2-0-2) with its first win ever over Fitchburg State. The schools met only once before in a men's soccer contest, with the Falcons (3-12-1) taking a 6-0 victory at Fitchburg on September 19, 1983.